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An armed man entered a skyscraper in downtown Cincinnati on Thursday morning and then opened fire in the lobby, killing three people and wounding five others before being shot by police.
Police said the shooting took place early in the workday inside the Fifth Third Bank building, a 30-story tower above busy Fountain Square, a few blocks from the Great American Ball. Park and Ohio River. Cincinnati police chief Eliot Isaac described the assault as "very horrible", although the police said the circumstances surrounding the violence and a potential motive were so far elusive.
"These are things we see across the country and we all need to be alert and ready to deal with these situations," said Isaac.
The area around the skyscraper was closed until approximately 9:15 am, and police found victims at 511 Walnut Street and surrounding areas, including one who had been seriously injured and was found in a building. Ice cream shop just a few steps from the building.
Witnesses said they heard gunshots and one said a woman was shot and wounded while entering the building's lobby. There were people shouting "shooter, run, go" to Fountain Square, a park that often hosts concerts, dances and food trucks.
"She came in the door and he shot at her," Cain told The Enquirer, saying that he had heard up to 15 shots.
Cincinnati mayor John Cranley said the gunman appeared to be randomly fired when officers confronted him, and said the police "were able to kill him and stop the threat." The police have not yet identified the shooter.
Cranley said the shooting "could have been much worse, if not for an immediate response from the police.
Bank manager Greg Harshfield, who on the 29th floor of the building at the start of the shooting, said he heard several gunshots and saw the police arrive almost immediately.
"We were able to find that there was a large police presence that seemed to come quickly and could see them blocking Fountain Square," Harshfield told reporters. "We knew immediately that something was wrong. We are of course shaken. "
Television footage showed bodies being executed on stretchers and policemen around the skyscraper of Fifth Third Center, the bank's headquarters. Three men and one woman were transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, hospital officials said. One is dead, two are in critical condition and one is in serious condition. Everyone had gunshot wounds, officials said.
ATF spokeswoman Suzanne Dabkowski reported that alcohol, tobacco and firearms officers had arrived to scan the building.
"It's heartbreaking," Cranley said. "It's not normal and it should not be considered normal. This is abnormal. No other industrialized country has this level of active multiple fire on a regular basis … I think there is something deeply sick at work here and we as a country have to deal with it. "
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